


Take my hand, it won't hurt

by Clonchi



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: AU - Kara lands on earth at 4 yrs old, Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Coming Out, Coming of Age, F/F, Fluffy Angst, Gardens & Gardening, Karlena endgame, SuperCorp, because Lena is into that ok don't judge, if that makes any sense ok, like a lot of sad baby Lena headcanons
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-22
Updated: 2017-02-11
Packaged: 2018-09-11 04:45:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8954134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Clonchi/pseuds/Clonchi
Summary: Lena and Kara meet when they are both 5 years old. Lena is having a hard time adjusting to life with the Luthors, she was never really good at making friends, after all. One day, Clark Kent brings his cousin along for Lex's birthday party and Lena finds an unlikely friend. For Lena, her quirky weird best friend is a gift sent from heaven. For Kara, a human friendship is a test.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoy baby Lena and baby Kara!

_Lena Luthor, 5 years old_

Lena tried to fight off the panic rising in her throat when she opened her eyes. Everything was strange around her, and it took her a minute to remind herself that this was her new reality, her new home. She had been adopted by the Luthors about six months ago, but it was still hard to believe. Her room was cold, maybe because she had kicked the blankets off the bed during the night. Lena shivered and pulled the blanket back over her body, burrowing further into the bed trying to fall back asleep. It didn’t really work. She needed to pee, but the curtains were drawn and the room was dark and well, she was a little scared. Every night, one of the nannies turned off the lights and closed her door and she was too ashamed to tell them that she would’ve preferred to keep the lights on. What if they laughed at her, like they did at the orphanage? When the door opened slowly, Lena hid under the blanket, until a warm voice that was slowly becoming her favorite one spoke up.

“Lena? Are you up?”

She smiled and peeked out of the blanket, seeing Lex approaching. He climbed up and sat next to her. “C’mon sleepyhead, I know you have to go to the bathroom…”

Lena giggled as she took Lex’s hand and got out of bed. While she trotted off to the bathroom, Lex opened the curtains and waited for her so they could go down for breakfast.

Lex attended a private elementary school, which Lena would be attending as well next year. She loved getting up early enough to have breakfast with him before he went to school. She had a tutor that came in for four hours each day to help her “catch up” to the level expected to start first grade. She was very proud of the fact that she could read almost without stopping in the middle of sentences and her writing was improving each lesson, at least according to her teacher. Lex was sitting on the bed, swinging his legs and humming, and he jumped up when his sister came out of the bathroom.

“Today is English muffin day! Wait til you try the raspberry jam.” He offered his hand and Lena promptly took it. She was immensely thankful for it, since she still got a bit lost in the Luthor manor if she got distracted. When they got to the big dining hall, the table was already laden with food and Shirley, one of the maids, greeted them with a smile.

“Good morning you too, sit down, let’s get some food in ya!”

Lena half smiled as she sat to Lex’s right. Lex immediately pulled a muffin towards himself and started buttering it before placing it in Lena’s plate.

“Here Lena, now scoop some of that jam on top!” He pointed with the knife to a jar right in front of Lena, so she took it as permission to start eating. Her brother had been right, this raspberry jam was delicious. She started making humming noises and Lex nodded excitedly.

“I told you! Graham grows the raspberries in the greenhouse by the south garden and then Gail makes the jam, it’s awesome!”

Lena still hadn’t learned the names of all the people that lived in the manor, but Graham was by far her favorite. He was almost 60 years old and he tended the gardens with his nephew. The first day Lena had arrived, she had gotten lost in the garden and Graham had helped her find her way back to the house and had given her a daisy. No one had ever given her anything in such an offhanded way, without expecting something in return. She had asked what it was called, and Graham had told her to come find him any time she wanted another one. Lena was not used to demanding anything from anyone so she hadn’t sought him out. Well, not then, anyway. She had cried the day the flower had wilted, and Lex had told her that there were many more out in the garden and that she only needed to go pick another one. Lena had nodded and thanked him, but he just didn’t understand. Another flower wouldn’t be _this_ one. There would never be another daisy like this one Graham had given her.

_Click.click.click.click._

Lena tensed up in reflex. She had come to distinguish that noise above all the other strange noises in this new world. The waft of perfume preceded Lillian Luthor. She was impeccably dressed in white, hair coiffed and perfect. She already looked like this day was going to be hell and it wasn’t even 7 o’clock. Lillian bent over Lex to place a kiss on his forehead, granting him a smile. He squinted up and smiled back at his mom, who mussed his hair a bit.

“Good morning, angel. Did you sleep well?”

Lex aha-ed in response because his mouth was full. Lillian turned her eyes towards Lena, who was looking down at her plate, unmoving. Lillian’s voice was suddenly devoid of the warmth it had shown earlier.

“When someone enters it’s polite to say good morning, Lena.”

Lena cleared her throat. “Good morning, Mrs. Luthor.”

Lillian was already half way to her own chair on the other side of the table when she clicked her tongue. Lena stuttered. “Sorry, _mother._ ”

“That’s better.” She disappeared behind the morning paper and sipped her tea. Lex finished shoving a third muffin into his mouth before looking pointedly at Lena, who dropped her half-eaten breakfast back on the plate and nodded. Lex beamed.

“Mom, may we be excused?”

Lillian lowered the paper to flash another smile at her son.

“Of course, darling. Go finish getting ready for school.”

Lex jumped out of the chair and motioned for Lena to follow. Lena carefully placed the chair back in its place before running after Lex.

* * *

 

Her days are now all the same, and she mostly spends them alone, when she’s done with her tutor. She likes to sit outside in the grass, watching the trees sway in the wind. Here, she doesn’t feel like she’s in anyone’s way. The best days are when Lionel – _dad ­_ – comes home early to work from his office and he stops by to play with her for a bit. He always asks what she learned that week, so she always makes an effort to remember dates and facts. One day, they were talking about the stars, when he leaned closer to whisper to her.

“Next Friday is your brother’s birthday.”

Her eyes widened and he nodded, as to confirm.

“You should start thinking about what to get him.”

She bit her lip. “But what if he doesn’t like what I give him?”

Lionel pulled her in for a one-armed hug. “Ooh don’t you worry about that, you’re his _sister,_ of course he’s gonna love it!”

Lena took a deep breath, clutching to her dad’s chest and smiled.

“Ok, I have to go work now, you get started on this present!” He gave her a quick kiss on the forehead and left the room. Lena sighed and laid on her back, thinking hard. She stayed there for so long, that she drifted off to sleep, only waking up when she heard hurried footsteps coming her way. Lex was already taking off his school tie when he went into Lena’s room and laid next to his sister on the floor.

“Why are we on the floor?”

Lena giggled and shrugged. Lex went on about his day, telling his sister everything he’d done. Lena liked to hear Lex talk, the way he talked too fast when he got excited and Lena had to place her hand over his so he’d remember to breathe. When he was done talking, Lena propped up on one elbow.

“Lio- _dad_ told me that your birthday is next week.”

His eyes shone. He started describing the cake he had asked for (chocolate) and that mom and dad had said they could watch a movie (star wars) in the theater room and eat popcorn.

“It’s gonna be so cool, Lena! Kyle and Clark are coming after school and we’re gonna fire up the rocket launcher!”

Lena smiled at her brother’s enthusiasm. She knew Kyle and Clark were his only friends in school, and even though she felt a little awkward when she hung around them, Lex always made her feel welcome and that was more than enough. They talked some more about the birthday plans before Lex reluctantly stood up and announced he was going to finish his homework before dinner. Lena went over to her art supplies and started sketching and drawing the plans for her present.

* * *

 

The week flew by for Lena, who was so busy making her brother’s gift and trying to hide it from him that she hardly had time to go outside. Not that anyone noticed, but still. On Lex’s birthday, she closed her eyes and jumped out of bed while it was still slightly dark outside. She rushed to her brother’s bedroom and climbed into the bed, tickling him while yelling Happy Birthday. When Lex finally called Uncle, she stopped and they ran downstairs for breakfast, following the sweet smell of pancakes wafting over from the kitchen. They sat down at the dining table while Shirley served them chocolate chip pancakes with syrup and strawberries. They were halfway through the stack when Lionel walked in. Lena wasn’t used to seeing him in the mornings, since Lionel usually left for the office way before they woke up. He walked up to them, gave Lex a quick hug and said “Happy birthday, son”, before hugging Lena too. He stole a strawberry from Lena’s plate, which caused her to giggle, and then he was off to work, vowing he'd be home early today. When the pancakes were all but gone, Lillian rushed in, arms out to envelop Lex in a tight hug.

“Happy birthday, my angel boy.” She grabbed his face and started peppering him with kisses. Lex was smiling, thanking his mom and letting her pamper him. When Lillian finally let him go, her eyes swept over the table, and Lena, with pressed lips. Lena half-smiled at her and said good morning, but if Lillian heard it, she ignored it. She called for her tea and this time sat next to Lex, just opposite of Lena. Lillian fussed over her son, asking if he was excited for their birthday plans. Lena was done eating, but normally she left the table with Lex and they would play for a little while before he left for school. But today she felt like she was intruding in a mother/son moment, so when her request to be excused was met by a curt nod by Lillian, she trotted off to her room in silence.

She couldn’t pay much attention in her lessons that day because she was worried about her present for Lex. As a result, the tutor left her a stack of homework to get done during the weekend. Lena didn’t mind it, she loved learning new things and practicing until she got everything right. She carefully wrapped Lex’s gift, hid it in her room, and went for a walk. There was a light breeze that gave Lena goosebumps, but she liked it. She walked barefoot through the gardens making her way towards the big greenhouse, her favorite place ever. The soft sound of chimes announced her presence, and Graham wiped his hands while he walked towards her with a warm smile.

“Hello there, Miss Lena, how was your morning?”

Lena fell into step with Graham as he continued to water the plants.

“It was okay, I learned math today.” She dug her fingers in the damp dirt and idly started to weed it out. She continued to tell Graham about her lessons while they both worked on the soil. Graham was proud of how much Lena had learned about gardening in the last weeks, he made sure he told her so every day.

On Fridays, they pinched the Chrysanthemums, which meant cutting up the stem above the first leaves and re-planting them to encourage more growth. It was a methodical process that Lena enjoyed immensely. She had memorized the steps to follow and she could practically do it all herself. Graham usually just stood back and watched her, giving her short instructions every once in a while, and encouraging her when she did something right. First, she identified the stems in need of pinching, then carefully using her fingers, she’d snap the stems. When she had collected all the new stems, she moved to a new plot of dirt. She added some fertilizer while trying to breathe through her mouth (the smell was the worst part of gardening, she was convinced she could someday invent a fertilizer that didn’t smell so bad), then she watered the soil so it was damp. Graham had showed her how to space them using her hand as measurement, so she carefully counted 7 finger lengths between each stem. Her favorite part was re-planting them. She dug little holes and pushed the stems halfway in, then she patted the soil around it carefully, until it was standing upright. She repeated the process for each new plant, speaking softly to them without really knowing she was doing it. Lena watered each new stem, testing the soil as she went, and when she was convinced she’d finished, she turned around for Graham’s approval. The old man smiled at her and motioned with his head for them to move on to the next plot. Lena felt a warmth spread through her. She couldn’t wait to come back and check on the progress of the new flowers.

Lena stayed out in the greenhouse until lunch time. She gave Graham a quick hug and skipped back to the house holding some gardenias she had picked out for her room. She put them in her favorite purple vase with a little water and her homemade flower preservative (a recipe Graham had taught her), then placed the vase on her dresser, away from the window. She liked the light pink color of the petals, which seemed to change shades depending on the lighting. Lena knew she could watch them for hours, but it was time to get cleaned up and changed for Lex’s birthday party. Her party dress was already laid out on her bed next to her shoes. It was still weird for Lena to have people just decide these things for her – after all, she was pretty capable of choosing her own clothes – but Lex had told her this was how things worked in their house, so she didn’t say anything. She _did_ make a point of thanking Shirley, Ruth, Penelope, and all the other people that worked in the house whenever they did something for her, which is something she noticed neither Lillian nor Lionel ever did. Lex sometimes forgot too, but she guessed it was because he was so used to it.

By the time she heard the car arrive, she was already changed and ready to give her brother a birthday hug. Lena stood on the foyer, jumping anxiously from one foot to the other. Lex walked in with a smile and let his sister envelop him. They hugged tightly, and Lena took his hand to lead him towards the dining room.

After lunch, they watched Shirley and Penelope getting everything ready for the party. Lex had told Lena that Kyle and Clark would be arriving soon and that the first thing they’d do before the movie was to try to get the bottle rocket working in the backyard. Lena was excited to see it happening, although she didn’t understand much of what Lex was talking about.

When the doorbell rang sometime later, Lex ran full speed to let Kyle in. He was holding a massive gift that Lex sheepishly took and placed on a mantle before both boys sprinting over to the backyard. Kyle waved at Lena, who was left on the foyer, unsure whether to follow the boys or stay put. She decided to run upstairs to grab her present and put it next to Kyle’s, so Lex could open them all at the same time. When she was coming back downstairs, the doorbell rang again. She figured it was Clark and went to open the door. Sure enough, there was Clark holding a small gift-wrapped box, hair perfectly groomed. He smiled at Lena when she opened the door and it took her a second to register his words because she was distracted by a wisp of blonde hair behind him. Clark put one hand behind him to pull a small shy girl up front. The girl was wearing a blue dress, she had her hands clasped together and was firmly looking at the ground.

“This is my cousin Kara, she’s visiting from Midvale and your mom told my mom that it was ok for her to come. Kara, this is Lena, Lex’s sister.” Clark nudged the girl to walk inside and followed. Lena remembered her manners.

“Hi, nice to meet you, Kara.” She smiled at the girl, whose eyes briefly left the floor and met Lena’s. At that moment, Lex and Kyle’s shouts of “CLAAAAARK” filled the room as the boys rushed forward to say hello to their friend. Clark whispered something to Kara who nodded, before running after Lex and Kyle. Lena took those few seconds to inspect this new girl. She looked to be about her age, but she looked… scared. She flinched a lot, especially when people talked and Lena didn’t really understand why. They were just standing in the middle of the room, Kara stock still.

“I like your glasses.” Lena pointed and Kara blushed and muttered _thanks._ Lena didn’t know why, but from that moment on she resolved to speak in low hushed tones to Kara. “Are you hungry?”

At that question, Kara’s eyes lit up. Lena chuckled and motioned for Kara to follow her to the dining room, where there were all sorts of snacks on the table. Kara looked unsure of what she could take, but at Lena’s encouragement, she grabbed a plate and started loading it with food. Lena did the same – although she didn’t grab quite as much food as Kara – and then walked out to the garden with Kara in tow. She led Kara to the small porch in front of the greenhouse, just out of earshot of the boys, who were building the platform for their rocket, and sat down on the grass. Kara was making humming noises at the food and looking around at all the different flowers behind them. Lena leaned in to whisper conspiratorially.

“This is one of my favorite spots in the house, but I’m not allowed to bring food inside. We can go in afterwards if you want.” Lena was glad to see that Kara wasn’t flinching at noises so much. Kara just nodded, and Lena took that as a yes.

Lena found Kara’s silence comforting, actually. She was usually nervous when there was silence in the house, especially when Lillian was around, because it felt charged, like someone was watching her. But sitting here outside, eating cupcakes and chocolate-covered fruit with Kara felt… _nice._ She didn’t interact much with kids her own age, basically only Lex and his friends, and back in the orphanage the other kids were mean and didn’t like to talk to her too much because she was “different” – that’s the word Mrs. Henstein always used when Lena went to her, crying.

Lena was distracted watching the boys assemble the rocket wrong, and she was debating whether to go over and tell them that, when she heard Kara whisper next to her: “What are they doing?”

“They’re building a bottle rocket launcher.”

Kara’s brow furrowed. “To get that into space?”

Lena chuckled a little. “Not that high, just a few feet off the ground. But if they don’t seal those bottles right, it’s not gonna work.”

“Well, why don’t you tell them that?”

Lena shrugged. “I don’t think they’ll like that…” When she saw Kara’s confusion, she continued. “you know, I’m just… I’m a _girl_ and they’re _older_ and I dunno… older kids usually got mad at me when I tried to correct them.” She bit her lip and looked down, feeling small again.

Kara was still looking confused. “That’s weird… back in Krypt- I mean, _home,_ no one would get mad when someone tried to help. They’d just thank you.”

“I don’t know where home is for you, but from what I know, that doesn’t happen.”

Kara was muttering now. “Still… _weird_. I guess it would be fun to see Kal- um _Clark_ fail at something.”

It made Lena feel better, and she laughed. She was starting to like Kara, and she was beginning to hope that maybe, just maybe, she’d made a friend.


	2. The Flower Fields

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your sweet comments and kudos and for following this story! I always look forward to hearing from you xo

_Lena Luthor 10 years old_

 

“LENA COME ON WE’RE GONNA BE LAAAATE!”

Lena lets out a huff at her brother’s tone. She finishes putting her hair up and walks downstairs carrying her backpack.  She gets in the car and slams the door.

“We’re not gonna be late, Lex, relax. It’s just _school_.” She rolls her eyes at her brother, who nudges her shoulder.

“I know, but Clark said he had something to show me so I have to get there extra early!”

Lena closes her eyes as she lets Lex ramble on about the stupid comic book strip he and Clark are working on. She tries to fight the panic that slowly rises every morning when they get closer and closer to school.

In the four years she has spent at that school, she hasn’t managed to make friends. The other girls whisper behind her back and the boys sneer at her. Dad had told her it was because she was way smarter than they were, so they were all jealous. But it’s not her fault that she’s good at math and science and such. During class she can ignore the whispers and the stares because she concentrates on the teacher and what they’re saying, but recess and lunch? Those are torture. She usually sits outside by the old willow tree and eats there. It’s really unfair that the only friend she has doesn’t go to the same school. In a way, Lena is glad that Kara goes to a different school, because it means Kara doesn’t get to hear the mean things the other kids say about her. Somehow Lena knows Kara wouldn’t laugh or say mean things about her but… what if she does?

All in all, it’s a good Thursday. She doesn’t have a lot of homework and more importantly: today is the day she is going to plant her first crop of roses. On her own. She came up with the plan months ago, and Graham helped get the seeds. Lena can’t wait to get home and lose herself in the garden. On the ride back from school, she is practically jumping in her seat and races up the stairs the second the car comes to a halt. She quickly changes out of her uniform and in 5 minutes flat, she is racing through the garden towards the greenhouse. A sniffle coming from behind the tool shed stops her in her tracks. She moves closer to the sound, and is shocked to see a disheveled blonde hugging her knees and crying.

“ _Kara?”_ Lena crouches and tries to touch her, but Kara flinches and moves farther away. Lena bites her lip and sits next to her friend in silence. There are a million questions she wants to ask, but she knows Kara gets overwhelmed by too much information, so she just sits there, waiting for Kara to calm down. When Lena sees Kara take deep breaths, she clears her throat and whispers – like she always does around Kara: “What happened?”

Kara shrugs. “School is just… _too much._ And the kids make fun of me and today Alex wasn’t around to help me cause she got detention, and St-steve Yoi was yelling at me and it was _so loud_ that it hurt so I ran.”

Lena is straining to hear Kara, because she is whispering and is also not lifting her head from her knees. But Lena hears enough to understand and also, to be kind of confused.

“You… ran? Where?”

At that, Kara sits upright, eyes wide. It’s like she’s just now realizing where she is. She shuts her eyes and fresh tears fall off. Kara seems to be mumbling more to herself than to Lena.

“I’m in so much trouble, Eliza is going to _freak out._ I just didn’t think I… um I wanted to see you and Alex is right I need to be more careful.” She looks up at Lena. “Please don’t tell anyone.”

“Don’t tell anyone what? That you apparently ran from your school in Midvale to my house in less than 5 minutes?”

Kara nods gravely, and Lena chuckles.

“Kara, I know you’re…  _different._ And that’s ok, I mean, if you don’t want to tell me more right now, it’s fine.”

Lena moves to hug Kara, but Kara flinches again with a soft _don’t._

“I don’t – I don’t want to hurt you, Lena.”

Lena bites her lip and whispers _wait here,_ before dashing into the house. A few minutes later she’s back, out of breath, and hands Kara a red and blue pillow.

“Here, hold this. It won’t break or anything, try it.”

Kara grabs the fluffy pillow and burrows into it, hugging it to her chest. She’s hesitant at first, but when nothing happens to the pillow, Kara holds on tighter, letting out a sigh.

They sit in silence for a few more minutes, until Kara truly calms down and starts running her hand over the designs of the pillow.

“I was gonna plant roses today, wanna come help me?” Lena sees the worry in Kara’s face, so she speaks before Kara can say no. “You don’t have to help if you don’t want to, but it would be cool if you could keep me company.”

Kara smiles and nods. Lena gets up and offers a hand to help Kara up. When Kara starts shaking her head, Lena rolls her eyes and smiles reassuringly. “Take my hand, Kara. It won’t hurt me, I promise.”

When their hands touch, Lena _swears_ she isn’t helping Kara up as much as Kara is _floating_. But the fact that her friend held her hand and trusts her, is enough to make Lena smile.

For the next half hour, Kara sits to the side, while Lena works on her roses. They mostly talk about school and their siblings, and every so often Kara lets a little bit of her secret slip, like when she tells Lena that there’s a bug on the soil, when there’s _no way_ she could have seen it from so far away. Lena is careful not to comment though, because she doesn’t want Kara to feel awkward.

After Lena has successfully planted her first crop of roses, she walks over to Kara and hands her the watering can.

“Here, can you water them for me, please? You’re taller so you can reach the back ones without getting wet.”

Kara gingerly takes the watering can and walks over to the fresh soil. Lena watches Kara’s brow furrow in concentration, and can’t help but smile when she sees that Kara is floating a few inches over the ground unbeknownst to her. She decides not to mention it.

“Done! Um, I think I should go… I’m already in a lot of trouble with Jeremiah and Eliza and I don’t want them to worry too much.”

Lena nods and walks with Kara over to the tool shed. “Do you, um, do you want me to like, tell the driver to take you home?”  
Kara blushes and points behind her to the backdoor. “I think m-my way is faster.” She smiles at Lena, who smiles back. Kara takes a little step forward but then stops, so Lena moves towards her and slowly envelops Kara in a hug. She feels Kara tense up, but then she slowly relaxes and puts her arms around Lena, too.

“See? It doesn’t hurt, Kara.”

Kara chuckles. They let go and after an awkward wave and glancing around that no one is watching, Kara soars and flies off. Lena watches after her in amazement, hoping that one day Kara will be comfortable enough with her powers to take her flying, too.

* * *

 

Spring is in full bloom, and Lena’s rosebuds are almost ready to open. She checks on them every day, talking to the little buds, telling them about school, because Graham said that the plants like her voice. She doesn’t _really_ believe him, but they do bloom better when she talks to them, so why not keep going?

Kara is doing better in school, it seems, because she has stopped showing up, crying, every other day. Now she shows up on Thursdays with a smile, and a new type of flower for Lena to add to her garden. It’s their little secret and Lena isn’t too worried about her parents finding out because they are never home that early – and Lex has violin practice on Thursdays.

This Thursday, Lena adds just a little more peanut butter to the sandwiches she’s making, her tongue poking out a little as she concentrates on getting them _just right._ When she hears the kitchen door open, she looks up with a guilty expression on her face that turns into a wide smile when she sees it’s Shirley.

“Hi Shirley!” Lena scrambles to cover all four sandwiches (cut diagonally, of course) with napkins, while Shirley just walks behind her smirking and leaning back on the counter.

“That’s a lot of sandwiches, Miss Lena… you really that hungry?”

Lena shrugs and turns so that she’s not facing Shirley.

“Uh yeah, I um had a big day at school today… uh, I’m gonna go eat these outside, bye!”

She half waves at Shirley and storms out of the backdoor, running towards the greenhouse. Shirley chuckles and shakes her head. Of course she knows about Kara visiting on Thursdays. She and Graham noticed the blonde girl the first time she showed up, and they saw how happy it made Lena, so they pretended not to know anything while also making sure no one else found out about it.

Lena walks into the greenhouse and looks around for a sign of her friend, but it looks like Kara isn’t here yet. She bites her lip and walks over to the small table to place the sandwiches there. She decides to check on the flowers while she waits. It’s not like Kara to be late, but maybe something came up. A few minutes later, Lena hears her rushing in, already halfway through an apology.

“-and I know I’m late sorry but I had to wait for Eliza cause I wanted to show you right away! Here!” Kara flashes her megawatt smile at Lena, presenting her with two tickets. Lena reaches for them automatically, reading them aloud while Kara bounces in front of her.

“The Flower Fields in Carlsbad, California? Kara – what? What is this??”

“Well, I know how much you love flowers, I mean… obviously.” Kara gestures to their surroundings, earning an embarrassed chuckle from Lena. “So I um, well, I heard about this place and I asked Eliza if she could buy the tickets cause I’ve been saving from my allowance for a while now and um, I guess she asked your mom or something and she said yes? So now we get to go this weekend!” Kara claps her hands excitedly, then walks over to the small table, motioning for Lena to follow. “It’s really cool Lena, it’s like 50 acres of flowers with tractor tours and music and you can buy seeds and stuff!”

Lena is trying very hard not to cry. Her eyes are filling up with tears, and she feels this heavy _thing_ on her chest. She was ready to spend this weekend like she always did, resigned to spend it alone being carefully ignored by her mother. Kara is still going on about the place but Lena can barely hear her. She sits down next to Kara, her hands clasped firmly in front of her, eyes closed. Finally, Kara notices that something is wrong, and she immediately panics.

“Lena? Are you ok? Is this… not… I mean, um, did you not want to go? Cause I can return the tickets or, or give them to someone else or… fudge, sorry.” Kara is biting her lip and grasping at the wood so hard, it’s starting to crack.

Lena just shakes her head, unable to speak. She wants to say something, she really wants to tell Kara, but she can’t. She gestures around a little, opening her mouth, but nothing comes. Instead, she turns and buries her head in Kara’s shoulder, taking deep breaths. Kara’s eyes widen as she hears – unwillingly – how Lena’s heartbeat is racing and how the tears are slowly coming. All she can do is put a hand on Lena’s shoulder and move it up and down gingerly, as she has seen Eliza do time and time again. She doesn’t know what to say, so she just lets Lena cry while she holds her. Unfortunately, this is the moment Kara’s stomach decides to make itself known. Kara winces, but she hears Lena laugh, which makes her smile.

“The sandwiches are right there, Kara. You can eat now.” Lena pokes at Kara’s belly and then sits up, rubbing her eyes a little. Kara quickly – _too­ quickly_ – grabs half a sandwich and starts munching, one hand back on Lena’s shoulder. She reaches for the second one and is almost done with it, when Lena starts talking in a whisper.

“It means more than I can explain, Kara.”

Kara stops midbite. _Oh._ “Oh…” She doesn’t know what else to say.

Lena shrugs, head still resting on Kara’s shoulder. “Sorry for… freaking out, I just… ugh…” Lena doesn’t want to keep crying, but she can’t help it. Kara squeezes Lena’s shoulder – gently.

“Don’t worry, Lena. I get it.”

They stay like that for a while, Kara eating as slowly as she can, and Lena buried in her shoulder. They talk about the Flower Fields and the different flower types, Lena laughs when Kara can’t pronounce “Ranunculus”, which earns her a smudge of peanut butter on her nose.

Before Kara leaves, Lena pulls her into a hug, happy to note that Kara is getting more comfortable with them now.

“Thank you, Kara.”

“Don’t mention it.”

With a last smile, Kara is off. Lena sighs and jogs back to the house to change for dinner.

* * *

 

Lena and Lex are waiting for their dessert, when Lena freezes at the sound of _her_ heels in the foyer.

 

_Click.Click.Click.Click._

Lex doesn’t seem to notice, and he only looks towards the door when Lillian walks in, making a beeline for her son to kiss the top of his head before sitting down at the other end of the table. Lena utters a hello that barely gets acknowledged before Lex starts telling his mom about his day. Lena flashes a smile at Shirley when she gets her dessert, and starts to eat, careful to concentrate on her plate, spearing each piece of fruit with more purpose than necessary. When she hears her name being called out, she almost drops her fork.

“ _Lena.”_

She turns her eyes towards her mother, who is busy cutting her steak.

“Y-yes, mother?”

“That Danners woman called the office and Jessica gave the ok for you to spend the weekend there, _do_ try to behave as is expected of you. Carl will drive you there on Friday afternoon and pick you up on Sunday.” Lillian’s tone is monotone, like the one she uses to give orders to everyone. She never looks up from her food.

Lena know she shouldn’t be sad or disappointed, after all, this happens every year. She swallows and clears her throat before speaking.

“Yes, mother.”

Lillian hums, then turns back to Lex, smile already plastered on her face.

“Tell me more about your practice today, sweetie.”

* * *

 

On the way over to the Danvers residence, Lena can’t help but bounce in her seat. She looks out the window at the ocean, looking at the surfers wading with the waves.

“Carl, aren’t they cold in there?”

Carl chuckles, used to Lena’s questions.

“Nah, see how they’re wearing those black shirts? Those are called wetsuits, and they help them stay warm in the water.”

“Oooh… so how long do they stay in the water?”

Carl shrugs.

“No idea, maybe til they can’t see properly anymore.”

Lena sits back, deep in thought.

“Have they ever thought about putting on like waterproof helmet lights so they can see better and stay in longer?”

Carl laughs, shaking his head. He patiently answers Lena’s questions the rest of the way.

* * *

 

The second the car turns into the Danvers’ driveway, Lena sees the front door open and Kara walking out, waving madly. Lena can’t help but smile.

The car stops and Lena jumps out to hug Kara, who lifts her off the ground just a little before letting go. The woman behind Kara smiles gently at Lena.

“Welcome Lena, so glad you could make it!”

Lena blushes. “Uh, thank you for inviting me, Mrs. Danvers.”

The woman chuckles. “Call me Eliza, sweetie.” Eliza then turns to Carl, who is dropping off Lena’s bag. “Would you like some lemonade before the long drive back?”

“That would be wonderful, ma’am, thanks.”

Eliza motions for Carl to follow her in.

“Eliza, can I show Lena the backyard?”

Eliza nods and before she can say anything, Kara is nudging Lena to follow her in.  Lena turns around to give Carl a quick hug.

“Thanks for bringing me, Carl, see you on Sunday!”

She’s already halfway gone when Carl says goodbye.

Kara’s backyard turns out to be just a big expanse of grass that ends abruptly in a cliff, a swing set dangling from one of the big trees. Kara leads Lena to the swing set, where they take turns pushing each other for a while before Eliza calls them in for dinner.

Lena has never been to a friend’s house. She’s never been to another house other than the Luthor’s and the orphanage, really, and she has never felt comfortable in either one. But this one is different. It’s… _warm._ That’s the best explanation Lena can come up with. She sits next to Kara at the kitchen table that is laden with food and says an awkward hello to the surly-looking older girl sitting across from her.

“This is my sister, Alex.”

Lena and Alex look at each other, and Alex nods at her, her mouth curling up a little into the hint of a smile. A door slams, followed by a man’s booming voice, and suddenly the doorframe is filled by a man with the kindest smile Lena has ever seen. He walks over to Eliza and gives her a kiss full on the lips and a hug before walking towards the table to greet the girls. He stops next to Lena and crouches next to her.

“You must be Lena, it’s nice to meet you, I’m Jeremiah.” He smiles and extends his hand to her. She gives him a hand shake and he then sits at the other end of the table, his daughters at his sides. Eliza brings the last of the plates over and sits down. They start eating and talking, taking turns to talk about their days, and Lena feels both relaxed and utterly confused about this family dynamic which is unlike any she has seen before, except for those in movies or TV. When Alex is done talking about her idea for a science project (it sounds really cool and Lena can’t help but ask some questions about it, Alex promises to show her the experiment on Sunday), Eliza turns to Lena.

“What about you, Lena?”

She freezes, looking at Eliza, who is smiling at her.

“Um, what about me?”

Eliza puts her fork down and turns towards Lena.

“Tell us about your day, sweetie.”

 _What?_ Lena’s mind is drawing a blank. Everyone is looking at her expectantly. Somehow it doesn’t make her feel nervous, like when Lillian asks her something. It doesn’t seem like she’s being _tested_. She shrugs.

“Um, school was fine, boring, except for math, I guess.”

“Oh, you like math?” Jeremiah points at Kara. “Maybe you can get Kara interested in it, too.”

Kara groans. “I just… I don’t get it sometimes, that’s all!”

They all chuckle, and Lena lets out a breath she didn’t know she was holding.

“Just messing with you kiddo, so Lena, apparently you’re quite the botanist, from what I hear.”

Lena blushes.

“I um, yeah, I like gardening a lot.”

Eliza leans down to stage whisper to Lena. “I do, too.”

Lena chuckles, and she sits up a little straighter.

“I actually planted my first crop of roses on my own a few weeks ago. They’re gonna bloom any day now.”

Both Jeremiah and Eliza congratulate her, even Alex lets out a _nice_ , which makes Lena blush even harder. She smiles as she answers more questions about her garden and the kind of flowers she has.

After dinner, she spends the night talking to Kara in hushed voices, both girls too excited to go to sleep. Eventually, Lena falls asleep looking at the glow in the dark stars plastered on Kara’s ceiling, feeling welcomed for the first time in her life.

* * *

 

Eliza wakes them up at 6 am. Kara groans and turns in bed pressing a pillow over her head, but Lena jumps right out and over to Kara’s bed, shaking her.

“C’monnnnnnn Karaaaaaaaaa, let’s _goooooo_!”

After a while, Kara acquiesces and follows Lena downstairs, pouting all the way. It all stops when Eliza presents each girl with a stack of pancakes.

“Eat up girls, we have a full day ahead of us!”

Forty-five minutes later, the three of them are on the road, heading towards Carlsbad, singing along to the radio. They make it there just after 9, and the parking lot is almost full already. After going over some safety rules with the two girls, each of them present their tickets at the gate, and walk in.

Lena wishes she had more eyes so she could look at everything at once. Just inside the white gate are the tents where people sell art, flowers, food and just about anything else. There’s music slowly drifting from a raised stage on the left, and there’s a red tractor pulling a yellow truck a little farther to the right, where there’s a sign that reads “Wagon Rides HERE!”. But Lena’s eyes go straight to the mountain of colors right behind the tents. There are flowers stretched as far as the horizon, rows of purple, pink, yellow, orange, blue, and just about any other color Lena can name of Ranunculus. It smells _amazing._ That’s the first thing Lena notices. She can see out of the corner of her eye that Kara is furrowing her brow, hands balled into fists, Eliza softly talking to her. Lena realizes this explosion of color, sound and smell must be a little overwhelming for Kara. Her chest suddenly warms with affection and concern for her. She whispers _You okay?_ so low that only Kara can hear. Kara’s eyes find hers, and she nods, signaling that she heard her. Lena breathes in, never breaking eye contact with Kara, who breathes with her. After a few seconds, Kara’s face relaxes, she nods and smiles at Eliza and mouths _thanks_ to Lena. The three of them walk towards the Wagon Ride and get in, Lena sitting next to Kara by the corner, both girls sitting on their knees and looking out, grabbing to the railing. During the entire 20-minute ride, Lena and Kara play a game where Lena would point out to a specific flower and guess if it had a bug in it, then Kara would use her vision to see if Lena was right or not. The two collapsed into giggling fits every few minutes, and Eliza’s heart swelled each time. When they get to the top of the hill, the three decide to forgo the wagon ride back, opting to walk instead. They can’t actually walk between the flowers, but they stop every few steps to look around, listening to Eliza talk about the irrigation system or the special fertilizer they used. Kara isn’t really interested in that, but Lena absorbs every bit of information she can.

They walk through The Artist Gardens, where Lena and Eliza play a game of who can point and name more flowers in under a minute (They tied at 19), while Kara marvels at the paintings portrayed using only flowers. Right outside this part, they find a picnic table and Eliza unpacks their lunch.

While they’re eating, Eliza’s phone rings. She looks at it and makes a face.

“Ugh, it’s work, gimme a minute girls.” She stands up and walks a little further away to talk on the phone. Kara squints a little and then sighs.

“There’s a problem at the lab, looks like she’s gonna talk for a while.”

“You shouldn’t eavesdrop you know…” Lena lifts an eyebrow at Kara, who shrugs.

“I didn’t _mean to._ ”

“Riiight…” She smiles at Kara, sticking her tongue out.

“Um, can you distract Eliza for a bit when we walk through the stands?”

“Sure, why?”

“Alex and I want to get her something for her garden for Mother’s Day next week and this is the perfect place for it. But I want it to be a surprise.”

Lena’s face clouds over and she swallows hard, but she manages to smile and sound casual. “Oh, yeah, no problem.”

Kara looks at her friend for a moment, then whispers. “What’s wrong?”

Lena rolls her eyes. Of course, she should know better than to try and fool the girl with _superpowers._ She tries to keep her voice casual.

“I… um, I sort of forgot Mother’s Day was coming up.”

“Oh no! And you don’t have a present yet?”

Lena laughs, but it’s hollow. She mimics Lillian’s voice. “Mother’s Day is not a real holiday.” Her shoulders slump. “My first Mother’s Day with the Luthors, I gave mother a lilac that I had planted, um, she didn’t – she said it was _mundane_.” Lena fights back the tears and she looks down, unable to look at Kara. “It doesn’t – it doesn’t matter now, we just don’t celebrate it. We, um, don’t celebrate a lot of things, it seems… Lex always gives her a card and she takes it to work with her, b-but I just – I stopped trying, I guess.” Lena wipes her tears and shakes her head. “I’m sorry I don’t want to get sad, not here, not today.”

Kara comes around the table to sit next to Lena and presses their foreheads together. “Okay, we won’t… Are you gonna finish eating that?”

Lena laughs and pushes Kara, who allows herself to be pushed off the bench. She grins, reaches over to steal one of Lena’s chips and runs back to her own seat. Eliza returns to scold at Kara and hand her another sandwich, letting Lena take a minute to compose herself.

For the rest of the day, they walk around, Lena manages to distract Eliza long enough for Kara to purchase something, and the three flop down in front of the stage to listen to the music for a while, before Eliza ushers them back to the car where the two girls promptly fall asleep for the remainder of the ride back to Midvale.

* * *

 

On Sunday, Alex shows Lena her half-finished experiment, and the two of them (with little help from Kara) manage to make the generator work just before Carl gets there to pick Lena up. She gets hugs from all the Danvers and squeezes Eliza extra hard after she makes Lena promise to get her one of the roses from her first crop when they bloom.

Carl starts the car, and Lena waves out at the four smiling faces looking at her. She doesn’t stop waving until the car is on the road. Carl looks at her from the rearview mirror and smiles.

“Did you have a good birthday, Miss Lena?”

Lena smiles back, a tear threatening to fall from her eye.

“It was the best, Carl.”


End file.
